Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-01-27
MRS. CLEvELAND's GIFTS.
Christmas Gifts by the Hundreds for the
Most Admired Woman In America.


During the past week. preceding
Christmas. more gifts were received at
the white house than at any time since
the old mansion was built writes cor.
respondent of the Boston Globe. Az
least. so say the old servitors who have
been at the white house most of their
lives. Nearly all of them are directed
TO Mrs. Grover Cleveland. and from the
character OF the presents it is evident
that she is admired by many different
kinds of people.
l he daughter of one of the cabinet
officers. who had just come from an in
spcciion OF the presents, gave the writer
description of them with all the en-.
thusiasm OF a very young girl who is
just entering on her first Washington
season.
Il never saw such lot of Christmas
presents BEFORE" she said. They al
most fill up Mrs. Clcveland's room. and
don't think she has examined half of
them yet Many OF them are from her
old school friends and Buffalo acquaint-
ances; some from friends here in Wash
ington-but by far the largest number
come from people of whom she says she
never heard-from societies, Sunday
schools, and even from little children
in the far west and south. You would
be surprised at the big pile of dressing
cises she has received. They are of all
kinds, from the cheap variety-store ones
up TO the plush, silver. and ivory kind.
When Mrs. Cleveland received the first
one sine was pleased and placed it on
her bureau. Ten minutes later another
was brought in. This also she laid on
the bureau. But when during the rest
of the day more than dozen others
came, she began to think that her
friends judged her TO be in sad need of
hair-combing. and laughingly remarked
to me: Il have enough combs and
brushes now TO last the rest of my nat
ural life. There was one particularly
lovely dressing-case. II WAS from three
of her old classmates, and is made of
the richest blue plush / have ever seen;
has gold clasps and ivory contents. /
am sure nothing like it has ever been
seen in Washington. Just the opposite
of this was a gaudily-colored pasteboard
dressing case, which cost about so
cents. Mrs. Cleveland was especially
pleased with it. however. because it
came from a little girl IN Council
Bluffs, Iowa, and was accompanied by
one, of the sweetest little girl notes you
ever read. Moreover, the little girl was
so deliciously frank as 10 say that she
expected Christmas gift in return.
She will get ii, too, for Mrs. Cleveland
has sent her lovely set Of child's china
ware.
after the dressing-cases, books come
next in point of number. Mrs. Cleve-
land had already quite large library,
but she will have the shelves enlarged
now. The most costly and beautiful
book she has received comes from her
sister-iu-law. Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleve-
land. 1t is an illustrated copy of Cole
ridges Ancient Mariner { couldn't
undertake TO describe it to you. only
know it was the most beautifully bound
and illustrated book ever saw. There
were some pretty verses on the blank
leaf, too-original ones by Miss Cleve-
land. Mrs Cleveland seems to prize
that book above any present she has re-
ceived. Ono book she has received has
caused considerable amusement at the
white house. II is an ordinary PASTE
board-bound CnatterbuX. A little girl
from New Orleans sent 1t, explaining
that her friends wouldn't allow any
largo purchase, aud that she liked Mrs.
Clevelands plcsurco>o much that she
mus: send her some Christmas gift.
Mrs. Cleveland also received some
pretty sets of books from New York and
Boston publishing-houscs, with the COM
pliments OF the publishers, but she
thought they meanGit as an advertise
meat of themselves, SO she does not
care much for the books.
There were some unpleasant Christ
mas gifts, too. Some women's temper
auce association took advantage of the
occasion to send her copies of dry tenn
perancc sermons, with pious requests
that she should read them and put their
principles into practice at the white
house. In fact, they wrote to her as if
she were an apostle of liquor and they
the missionaries who were trying to
convert her. She was much annoyed.
and packed off some of the books to the
senders again. o.
Mrs Cleveland has also received
many gifts in the way of jewelry. Sew
eIaL cdOiuot lauieS gave neE FaIuaole
gifts. The prettiest. think, was dia-
mond brooch from Mrs. Manning 1t
is decidedly the prettiest in Washington
to-day. When Mrs. Cleveland goes to
the opera she is sure to have the finest
opera-glasses in the house. too, for the
pair she received from a lady admirer
in New York city are said to be the
finest that ever came from Paris. They
are of gold and ivory.
las to gloves and articles of that kind
she has received enough to last good
while. Just what the president gave
her don't know. but have heard that
it was a necklace OF some kind. If the
general admiration of Mrs. Cleveland is
to be measured by the number of Christ
mas gifts she has received. then she is
certainly the most admired woman in
America.